There was Another
by catodactyl
Summary: Sakura reminisces to her childhood, when she and Ino had first become rivals. As it turns out Sasuke wasn't her only childhood crush, and she's happy to realize her tiny feelings for the other boy hadn't been completely forgotten. He hasn't changed, and for some reason that makes her certain it's not just a childish crush anymore.


It had been a while since I cried this hard. I'm sitting alone under a weeping willow bawling my eyes out; how fitting. I'm a lot like a weeping willow. Take away the fact I used to look like one, now I feel like I'm just going along wherever the wind takes me except that I can never completely leave; I go with the flow but I can never change on my own.

And now look at me. Weeping, just like this tree.

I wasn't entirely sure how long I had been here. The sun was starting to set, and now my parents they're probably out searching for me frantically. I told myself I'll go home a while after the tears stop; I didn't want my parents to see me come home with red eyes and puffy cheeks. Too many questions would be thrown at me all at once, and I would probably burst into tears again because I knew all of them would be pointed in the wrong direction of what had actually happened.

It wasn't a boy.

It wasn't the bullies who had always picked on me.

It was my best friend.

My ex-best friend and now rival. Ino Yamanaka.

Never in my wildest dreams did I see this coming. If it hadn't been for her I never would have come out of my shell. She's the one who told me that I will one day bloom into a beautiful flower, but now all because of a boy none of that meant anything anymore. I felt so empty; something I haven't felt in a while.

"Hey you. Berry-head."

I instantly perk up from my face buried in my knees. I hadn't even been aware somebody was walking towards me, and when I look up I barely recognize the face of that who had approached me. Messy brown hair and animal-like eyes—the red fangs on his cheeks is what really made me think hard about his face—he looks vaguely familiar. I know I've seen him before. Who could forget a boy who carries a puppy on his head?

Then I caught the 'berry-head' comment. As annoying as that was I've been called worse ('billboard brow' for example) and frankly I was too upset to care. At least he was kind enough not to mention my gigantic forehead, or maybe he just didn't notice; although that was doubtful.

When I don't say anything—a huge lump in my throat was preventing me from doing so—the boy tilts his head the side a fraction and blinks at me, like he's trying to figure me out; why I'm crying. He bends down a little and continues to stare at me silently for a moment. "Why're you cryin'?" he finally asks.

Now it's my turn to waste time. I wipe away the few tears that were left streaming down my face and sniff; a hiccup or two escapes my lips before I manage to compose myself, at least a little. "I-I'm not crying," my pride makes me say. It was obvious I was crying, but if I was one day destined to be a kunoichi I needed to shut away the fact my tear ducts exist.

He's giving me a look of doubt; one that screamed the fact he knew I wasn't fooling anyone. For some reason this only makes me want to cry some more. I can feel my eyes burning with more tears fighting their way through my stubbornness. "Y-you'll," another hiccup interrupts me, "laugh at me if I tell you."

"No I won't."

The boy smiles at me and for some that makes me believe him. I'm fairly certain I've seen him before, but because I can't place a name on him it feels weird to trust him. Maybe it's the puppy wagging its tail on his head that puts me at ease.

Finally a few more tears break away from my eyes and I let it out. "I-I just lost my… m-my best friend," I manage to say through my sobs and the lump in my throat trying to suffocate me.

The boy is looking at me blankly but doesn't say anything. I go on.

"W-we had a fight and… and… and now w-we'll n-never… ever… t-talk to each other again." I'm sobbing again; I cover my eyes with my hands and try to make it stop. I wasn't sure what was worse, the embarrassment from crying in front of a stranger or the tears in general. It just hurt so much. Having to experience the tragedy first hand and then reliving it verbally.

My sobs keep gaining volume; I don't hear a shift in movement, and the next thing I know I have a pair of arms wrapping around me and pulling me in an embrace.

Eyes widening, heart beating faster than normal, I was neither expecting nor prepared for this. How should I react to the boy hugging me? It's so weird, and if my dad saw me at this moment he would probably freak. Still, I find comfort in this, and I notice that the tears had suddenly stopped. Was it rude to be stunned silent and frozen not to return the hug? It didn't matter, because the boy pulled away a minute later and scratched the bridge of his nose awkwardly; his cheeks were a soft shade of red.

"I don't like seeing girls cry," he told me, refusing to meet my gaze. "It sucks that'cha ain't talkin' to your friend anymore, and it ain't anythin' to laugh about."

I don't know where he was going with this and his grammar and speech was laughable—though that wasn't the point. If he was trying to comfort me, he was better off hugging me.

"That don't mean you guys won't be friends forever." Finally he says something that inspires me; makes me a little bit better. Could he be right? Maybe, someday, Ino and I could be friends again. It wasn't totally impossible, and right now I can't see it, but maybe it could happen.

The boy smiles at me again, and that makes me want to believe him even more. I can't help but smile back at him. "Th-thanks," I say, wiping the tears away.

He looks triumphant; he flashes me a toothy grin. Are those fangs? Eyes like an animal; red tattoos on his cheeks that look like fangs; actual fangs where is _human_ canines should be; that's it. I do know this boy. He's in my class; Kiba Inuzuka. How could I forget? Once again I remember the berry-head comment, and apparently he's forgotten me, too.

The puppy on his head—I can't recall his name, either—yips a little, like he was reminding his master he still existed. Kiba and I never talked much in class, so I never noticed the puppy often; he was sort of cute. Once my gaze is set on the miniature ninja hound I fidget a little. "C-can I pet him?" I asked.

I was more of a cat person, so it really was an awkward question for me. He just looked so cute; it was hard to suppress the urge to pet him.

Kiba doesn't seem bothered by how uncomfortable I looked asking. "Sure, if he likes ya," he says to me, taking the puppy off his head and handing him to me, like he expected me to take him into my arms.

The puppy is panting and sticking his tongue at me, but he doesn't seem hostile. He yips at me once and I flinch a little. Kiba laughs at this. "Don't worry. He won't bite."

I stare right back at the puppy some more. He didn't look like he would bite me; it's just his amateur barking was intimidating for some reason. Maybe he was asking, "Are you going to pet me or what?"

I hesitantly reach out my hand to the puppy. At first he sniffs me, and when he's recognized my scent and decided he liked me—I guess he decided he liked me—he started licking me. "H-hey! That tickles!" I'm giggling when the puppy squirms out of Kiba's grasp and jumps into my arms. He starts licking my cheek as I hold him, which only makes me giggle some more.

"Yeah, I think Akamaru likes you."

So that was the puppy's name. It made no sense because his fur was as white as the December snow, but his friendliness made me disregard this; it didn't matter, anyway. "He sure is a friendly little guy," I say.

A short while passes with me petting Akamaru and talking with Kiba. I'm not sure how long it was, but the sun was barely visible now, and I'm sure my parents are having a panic attack looking for me.

"Kiba! Get over here! We're going home!"

Kiba and I both flinch at the sudden declaration from a few feet away. I squint my eyes and I vaguely catch the presence of an aggressive looking woman with the same wild look in her eyes and fang tattoos like that of the boy who had accompanied me today. When I look back at the said boy he looked somewhat guilty. "That's my mom," he says with a sigh, as if he knew this was coming sooner or later.

That was his _mother_? Yikes.

Nonetheless we both stand up and I hand Akamaru—who had fallen asleep in my lap—back to him. I wanted to thank him for spending time with me today; I had fun, but I didn't want to keep his mom waiting, and I doubted he didn't either.

"See ya later, berry-head," he calls behind his shoulder as he starts running off, waving at me.

The repeat of the name 'berry-head' makes me puff out my cheeks irritably. "My name isn't 'berry-head'!" I retort. "It's Sakura. _Sakura_!"

If he can hear me—and I _know_ that he can—he doesn't show any sign that's acknowledged what I said. He reaches his mother and disappears with her, and I know I should follow in their footsteps and go home.

Today was the first day I had ever spoken with Kiba and held a conversation with him. I'll admit, now that I think about, I always thought he was a little scary looking. (Although now that I've seen his mother my opinion of his appearance has changed drastically; he's a lot less scary looking now.) I've seen him smile at a human being and not his dog, and when I think about the fact that that human being was _me_ of all people my cheeks turn a little red.

Sasuke Uchiha was the boy I had a crush on and was the reason Ino and I are no longer friends but rivals, and yet it was Kiba Inuzuka who I was intrigued with. Was it normal for a girl my age to have a crush on two boys? Was it normal for me to admit I had a small crush on Kiba of all people? My dad didn't take it too well when I told him that I liked Sasuke.

I can't imagine his face when I tell him I like another boy.

* * *

"Don't you remember?" I ask with a goofy grin on my lips.

"No, I _don't_ remember! It was so long ago!"

It wasn't every day Kiba and I got together; then again it wasn't every day I find him in the library. He told me that he was here to get a book for his sister, but his expression had shown his distaste for the favor—complaining about how awkward it would be for a teenage boy to pick up a romance novel for his sister—so I had asked him if he didn't mind hanging back a while to help me organize some medical textbooks for Shizune.

I can't remember how this conversation had come up, and since my time was always devoted to getting closer to Sasuke my crush on the dog-nin was easily forgotten. Thinking about it made me blush, but I don't try to hide it. He's blushing because he's trying to deny the fact that the events had actually taken place; if he asks I'll just say my cheeks are as red as his because his denial is cute.

Wait. Crap. I'm glad he's not a mind reader.

The silence that hangs upon us has become awkward. I barely think about what I'm about to say as I stack some more books on the shelf. "So, how are you with crying girls? Still don't like it?"

It sounded like I was teasing him. When he shoots me a glare, his cheeks still burning crimson, I can tell that's how he took it, too. "Shut up," he growls. "I can't handle it when a chick cries. Is it a crime?"

Over the years his speech hasn't improved much and neither has his grammar. He referred to women as 'chicks' and men as 'dudes'; he still used the word 'ain't', even after I've told him constantly it isn't a word; but even so a part of me is glad he hasn't changed much. Kiba has more muscle on him now than he did back when he was seven and still in the Ninja Academy with me, but really that's all that's really changed about him.

He was still an annoying doofus—which I decided when I got to know him a little better in school—and still called me 'berry-head', but at the same time he was still pretty charming when he wanted to be; sometimes even a little sweet.

"So you just hug them and pray that it stops the waterworks?" I ask, choosing to tease him some more, even if the first time was unintentional. I couldn't help. In spite of himself he was really easy to pick on.

"That did _not_ happen."

I giggle when he denies it again. If I were Ino I'd probably be arguing with him about it, but I find his denial cute. He always wore the tough-guy façade, so seeing him acting opposite to this was pretty entertaining.

"We were seven. Let it go!"

"So you admit that it happened, then?"

He growls at me some more before violently stacking some more books on the shelf opposite of me; I laugh at this. I assume that for the next half hour he's still irritated at me, because he doesn't say anything more after that. It's late by the time we finally get finished, much like it was on that day when Tsume came to get her son.

I was feeling pretty nostalgic about this. It was just the two of us in this stuffy library, after all. Maybe that's what made me think about it.

Kiba turns to leave before I do, and I snatch the opportunity to tease him some more. "Kiba would my crying get you to walk me home?" I ask in a playful tone. "It's awfully dark out there."

Again he glares at me. "Walk yourself home, ya damn harpy."

His language had only gotten worse over the years, too. As much as the word 'harpy' sends my nerves over the edge I force myself to let it slide. I got under his skin big time and that was punishment enough.

When I grab some books that had been carelessly left on one of the tables by an anonymous reader I hear the brunette say one more thing to me before he completely disappears into the night: "See ya later, _berry-head_."

He doesn't even glance my way when he says it, just like he had the first day we officially met. It had been a while since he called me that, and for some reason it just brings a smile to my face instead of the usual urge to punch him. "It's Sakura, you big jerk!" I call after him.

I still had feelings for Sasuke, but what I felt for that cocky fool was a lot stronger than it had been when we were kids. Back then it was just a childish crush; now it _might_ actually mean something.


End file.
